In the United Kingdom and the British Overseas Territories, personal bravery, achievement, or service are rewarded with honours. The honours system consists of three types of award:
The Order of Canada is a Canadian national order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit.
This article concerns the orders and decorations of the Commonwealth realms awarded by the sovereign in right of each nation.
The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order of merit in the New Zealand royal honours system. It was established by royal warrant on 30 May 1996 by Elizabeth II, Queen of New Zealand, "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits", to recognise outstanding service to the Crown and people of New Zealand in a civil or military capacity.
An order is a visible honour awarded by a sovereign state, monarch, dynastic house or organisation to a person, typically in recognition of individual merit, that often comes with distinctive insignia such as collars, medals, badges, and sashes worn by recipients.
The Saskatchewan Order of Merit is a civilian honour for merit in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. Instituted in 1985 by Lieutenant Governor Frederick Johnson, on the advice of the Cabinet under Premier Grant Devine, the order is administered by the Governor-in-Council and is intended to honour current or former Saskatchewan residents for conspicuous achievements in any field, being thus described in law as the highest honour amongst all others conferred by the Saskatchewan Crown.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Canada comprise a complex system by which Canadians are honoured by the country's sovereign for actions or deeds that benefit their community or the country at large. Modelled on its British predecessor, the structure originated in the 1930s, but began to come to full fruition at the time of Canada's centennial in 1967, with the establishment of the Order of Canada, and has since grown in both size and scope to include dynastic and national orders, state, civil, and military decorations; and various campaign medals. The monarch in right of each Canadian province also issues distinct orders and medals to honour residents for work performed in just their province. The provincial honours, as with some of their national counterparts, grant the use of post-nominal letters and or supporters and other devices to be used on personal coats of arms.
The orders, decorations, and medals of the Canadian provinces, in which each province of Canada has devised a system of orders and other awards to honour residents for actions or deeds that benefit their local community or province, are in turn subsumed within the Canadian honours system. Each province sets its own rules and criteria for eligibility and also for how each award is presented. Most of the awards allow for the recipients to wear their awards in public, and most grant the recipients the use of post-nominal letters after their names. Not all of the awards listed below are part of the Canadian honours system, thus some of them may not be worn or court mounted with awards that are part of the Canadian honours system.
The Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship is a provincial medal of merit that is awarded in the Canadian province of Ontario. It was established by the Government of Ontario in 1973 to recognize people who, through exceptional long-term efforts, have made outstanding contributions to the well-being of their communities and whose assistance is given without expectation of remuneration or reward. Typically, eleven to thirteen medals are awarded each year.
The following is the Canadian order of precedence for decorations and medals. Where applicable, post-nominal letters are indicated.
Bruce Wilbur Beatty,, was a Canadian graphic designer best known as being chiefly responsible for designing the emblems of the Canadian Honours System, starting with the badge of the Order of Canada in 1967. The emblem is the shape of a snowflake – just as every snowflake is different, so is every member of the Order. As of 2004, he had been in attendance at every Order investiture ceremony. Beatty was made a member of the order in 1990. In 1977 he was made a Fellow of the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada.
The Decoration for Officers of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve, post-nominal letters VD until c. 1947 and VRD thereafter, was instituted in 1908. It could be awarded to part-time commissioned officers in the United Kingdom's Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve after twenty years of service as efficient and thoroughly capable officers. The decoration was a Naval version of the Volunteer Officers' Decoration and its successor, the Territorial Decoration.
Peggy Wilton McKercher, is a Canadian conservationist and university administrator.
The Order of Military Merit is a military honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the second highest order administered by the governor in Council, on behalf of the Canadian monarch.
The orders, decorations, and medals of Luxembourg have their foundation in the Duchy of Nassau. The top tier order of Luxembourg being the Order of the Gold Lion of the House of Nassau is the House Order of the House of Nassau. The next in the order of honours precedence is the Order of Adolphe of Nassau, was founded by Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, in 1858 while he was the last reigning Duke of Nassau.
In May 1895, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various British military medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal introduced this system in August 1895 and, in 1897, instituted the Army Long Service and Good Conduct Medal (Natal).
The Colonial Auxiliary Forces Long Service Medal was instituted by Queen Victoria in 1899 as a military long service award for part-time members of all ranks in any of the organized military forces of the British Colonies, Dependencies and Protectorates throughout the British Empire. The medal gradually superseded the Volunteer Long Service Medal for India and the Colonies in all these territories, with the exception of the Isle of Man, Bermuda and the Indian Empire.
The British Columbia Medal of Good Citizenship is an honorary medal produced by the Canadian province of British Columbia. It was established by the Government of British Columbia in 2015 to recognize people who "acted in a particularly generous, kind or selfless manner for the common good without expectation of reward". It is modelled after the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship.
